Cignal (pronounced as ''signal'') is a Philippine

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...

and

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded med ...

provider, owned by Cignal TV Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the MediaQuest Holdings Inc. under the

PLDT PLDT, Inc., formerly known as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company ( fil, Kompanya ng Teleponong Pangmalayuan ng Pilipinas), is a Philippine telecommunications, internet and digital service holdings company. It is one of the country's ...

Beneficial Trust Fund. Cignal's prepaid electronic loading system is powered by Smart Communications Inc. Cignal uses

VideoGuard VideoGuard (sometimes referred to simply as ''NDS''), produced by NDS, is a digital encryption system for use with conditional access television broadcasting. It is used on digital satellite television systems - some of which are operated by News ...

encryption system to protect its content from signal piracy. It uses the

SES-7 SES-7 (also formerly known as ProtoStar-2 / Indostar-2) is a commercial communications satellite operated by SES World Skies, then SES S.A. Spacecraft ProtoStar-2 is a geosynchronous communications satellite built by Boeing. It is a BSS-60 ...

satellite to provide optimal coverage directly to the target markets.

History

Prior to the launch, the PLDT group had already intended to establish its own satellite television service after its media arm MediaQuest Holdings sold its stake in Beyond Cable Holdings to the Lopez Group, and a failed attempt on the acquisition of Philippine Multimedia Systems, Inc. (PMSI, owner of

Dream Satellite TV Dream Satellite TV was the first all-digital Direct-To-Home (DTH) television broadcasting service via satellite in the Philippines. Broadcasting from the Dream Broadcast Center located at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. Content is re ...

) from businessman and then-PLDT chairman Antonio "Tonyboy" O. Cojuangco. Using the satellite broadcasting franchise of Mediascape (formerly GV Broadcasting System), the new service was named Cignal and formally began its operations on February 1, 2009. PLDT spent PH₱1 billion for the rollout of the service. During its first years, Cignal transmitted its broadcast with over 20 SD channels and HD channels via NSS-11 satellite transponder service. In 2015, Cignal had reached 1 million subscribers.

Satellite transponder transmission

From 2009, Cignal broadcasts on NSS-11 satellite transponder service. But since 2012, Cignal utilizes additional broadcast on the SES-7 transponder service.

Competition

At present, Cignal competes in the DTH service against Global Satellite Technology Services'

G Sat G-Sat (''Global Satellite'') is a subscription-based direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television service commercially available in the Philippines. G-Sat is owned by Global Satellite Technology Services (GSTS), registered in the Philippines with t ...

, formerly

Sky Cable Corporation Sky Cable Corporation, doing business as Sky, is a Filipino telecommunications company based in Diliman, Quezon City. A subsidiary of the media conglomerate ABS-CBN, the company offers broadband, cable and satellite television services under ...

Sky Direct Sky Direct was a direct-broadcast satellite subscription television service in the Philippines owned and operated by Sky, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN. Sky Cable had been eyeing for a DBS service and considered on acquiring Dream Satellite TV from A ...

was their competitor but was decommissioned on June 30, 2020, via alias cease-and-desist order.

Sports teams

Cignal HD Spikers Cignal HD Spikers may refer to: * Cignal HD Spikers (men's team), Filipino men's volleyball team * Cignal HD Spikers (women's team), Filipino women's volleyball team {{disambiguation ...

(women's volleyball team) *

(men's volleyball team) * Cignal- Ateneo (formerly Cignal HD Hawkeyes) (

PBA D-League The PBA Developmental League, or PBA D-League, is the Philippine Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. History The PBA D-League was conceptualized after the collapse of the proposed merger between the Philip ...

) * Cignal Ultra ( Esports team)

References

MediaQuest Holdings Cignal TV High-definition television Direct broadcast satellite services Telecommunications companies established in 2009 Mass media companies established in 2009 Television in the Philippines Philippine companies established in 2009 {{telecom-company-stub

History

Satellite transponder transmission

Competition

Sports teams

See also

References